The first program born from Recursion Pharmaceuticals’ big AI bet with Roche and Genentech is headed toward the clinic pipeline. Roche and its U.S. subsidiary will co-develop a small-molecule drug around a target tied to a neurodegenerative disease they have not named. Recursion stands to earn up to $12B in milestone payments over the life of the partnership.
Recursion surfaced the target from AI analysis of its proprietary data. Both partners then spent extensive time validating it in the lab before agreeing to move forward.
The partnership dates to 2021, when the two pharma arms agreed to combine Recursion’s biology-mapping tools with their own deep experience in brain science. Recursion builds large-scale disease maps from biological data and searches them for entry points that standard methods overlook.
Recursion chief executive Najat Khan framed the moment as proof that untouched biology can be cracked. She described the program’s advance as significant for a research field that has historically frustrated drug hunters.
For AI drug discovery watchers, the move is an early gauge of whether machine-found targets survive wet-lab scrutiny. With AI-designed programs moving into late-stage trials across the industry, the pressure is on for targets like this one to clear the lab and reach patients.
